Mr Brightside
by Spiral Flowers
Summary: Sometimes, you realize that you really never wanted to know the truth in the first place. One-sided RenRuki, IchiRuki


Thin sandals tapped against the pavement as black robes swayed lightly in the wind. Crimson hair was pulled off of carved features set with lines of inky black. Vice Captain Abarai Renji walked the streets of the human world in the direction of one small-town clinic to search out a certain rogue shinigami and a Soul Society escapee. Unbeknownst to them, he had been watching them since the escape in question, monitoring the activities that the ebony haired woman dabbled in. It was an addiction that he was trying harder and harder to snap away from.

He semi-justified his activities, telling himself that this was what Captain Kuchiki would want him to do. True, if the man was still alive he probably would have killed his sister after he watched her for a while, but Renji dismissed that part of his idea.

No matter how much he tried to stop them, his affections for Rukia continued to advance; And when you hold feelings for a woman, the next thing to come is jealousy.

For the moment, that particular emotion was mainly directed at a certain orange-headed teenager.

Of course it occasionally flitted to that young boy Keigo, but he held no capacity what the Kuchiki girl was beyond the sense of the physical. He knew Rukia in body, mind, and soul; And no one else knew her better then he did.

Except his rival, of course.

He had seen the two of them come closer and closer after the escape from Soul Society. They snuck small smiles and glances at each other, Ichigo was more protective of her, they spent more time alone, and they had got along better in general. He would even go as far as to say he had seen them kiss. However, he knew nothing of their relationship outside of hunting Hollows, performing Konsoh, and their masquerade at school; And now his curiosity had peaked.

He performed a small hop over the gate and secured a position in front of the window he had seen Rukia jump out of every morning.

Inside the room was Rukia, still dressed in her school uniform. Her shoes were on the floor and she was sprawled on Ichigos bed, her toes dipping over the edge as she read some sort of comic book. He snorted lightly; Typical Rukia behavior.

The deathberry himself entered the room, his school clothes shed in favor of a long-sleeved shirt emblazoned with the message "PoP Iz dED" and worn jeans. Rukia smiled slightly at his entrance, and he just smirked lightly in return as he scratched his wet hair. He walked over to her and stuck his head over her shoulder to see what she was reading, and made some indiscernible remark.

She looked outraged and punched him in the head as a reply and fired back with some silent comeback of her own. They began a wordless argument as he watched on through the glass as they yelled. Rukia was on her feet in a moment, the book discarded and forgotten on the coverlet in favor of a much more exciting challenge.

It seemed her anger had toppled as she bared her teeth and tackled the lanky Shinigami to the ground and sat cross-legged on his stomach as she jabbed her finger in his face and yelled. He didn't want to take it and pushed himself back up and yelled an insult at the girl as she slid off his stomach and onto the space on the floor between his legs, her body leaning forward and supported by her arms.

She was yelling and he just sat there as she screamed at him, their noses barely two inches apart. He watched curiously as she finished and paused to catch her breath, then he leaned forward and planted his mouth firmly on hers. She smiled into his mouth and her back muscles relaxed. He sat up straight, pulling her with him, then they separated for air. He smirked at her again, grabbed her wrists, and pulled her into his closet; The doors shutting off the image of Ichigo sprawled with his knees bent, and Rukia perched on his stomach, her face set with a reluctant smile.

Renji blinked a few times in shock. Once he got over said shock, he had to struggle to ignore the impulse to rip the window out of its frame and do the same to the closet door to get his hands on Ichigo. He pushed his anger and jealousy down with a bit of an effort, then the sadness welled up in waves. He held it in of course, but it hurt terribly. A throbbing bruise freshly stamped onto his heart as he slid on a painful smile as he retreated to Soul Society.

He had seen what he had been trying so hard to deny, and now that it was confirmed there was no reason for him to continue pursuing the last Kuchiki any longer. He decided to step up and continue on with the afterlife and his responsibilities.

_Comin' outta my cage and I've been doin' just fine,_

_Gotta gotta be down, because I want it all._

_Started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?_

_It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss._

_Now I'm fallin' asleep, and shes callin' a cab, _

_While hes having a smoke, and shes takin' a drag._

_Now they're goin to bed, now my stomach is sick_

_Maybe its all in my head,_

_But shes touching his chest now,_

_He takes off her dress now,_

_Let me go._

_I just can't look, its killin' me._

_And take control._

_Jelousy, turning saints into the sea,_

_Swimming through sick lullabies,_

_Choking on your alibis;_

_But its just the price I pay_

_Destiny is calling me._

_Open up my eager eyes,_

'_**Cause I'm Mr. Brightside.**_

2/17/05

Inspired by Mr. Brightside, by the Killers.

Edited 2/19/05

Thanks for pointing out the errors, koala.


End file.
